The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks weren't efficient Tuesday night at Newman Outdoor Field.
They left 15 runners on base, walked six Sioux Falls batters and allowed five unearned runs.
Those numbers equaled a 9-5 Northern League defeat at the hands of the Canaries before 3,894 fans.
An evening of discontent was punctuated by two ejections in the ninth inning. Home plate umpire Richard Katz tossed RedHawks first baseman Toby Rumfield and manager Doug Simunic.
Rumfield -- after a lengthy argument with Katz in which he had to be restrained and also kicked dirt on home plate -- threw two handfuls of bats onto the field before he left the dugout.
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"I guess all the frustration came out in that last inning," RedHawks second baseman Brian Ward said.
Simunic interjected himself into the fray after Rumfield was tossed and, he too, after a spirited debate with Katz, was thrown out.
"What are you going to do?" Simunic said. "I'm going to stick up for my guy."
The RedHawks (24-12) lost their fourth consecutive game and their magic number for clinching the first-half Western Division title and a spot in the playoffs stayed at 4.
Lincoln, which is in second place in the West, scored an 8-6 victory Tuesday against St. Paul.
F-M has nine games remaining on its first-half schedule.
"You just don't want to put pressure on the last games," Ward said. "The earlier you can get it done, the better."
The Canaries took control with a five-run seventh inning. Two of those runs were unearned. The RedHawks committed an error, walked two batters and uncorked two wild pitches to aid in the decisive rally.
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"It was just an all-around tough game," said RedHawks right fielder Steve Foley, who went 1-for-4 at the plate. "You just have to shake it off."
The RedHawks touched Canaries' pitching for 14 hits, but were unable to produce in key situations.
F-M left two runners on base in the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
"We were getting a lot of base runners and just needed that extra hit with guys on," said Ward, who went 3-for-5 with a home run.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513
